1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bicycle cable seal fitting. More specifically, the present invention relates to a bicycle cable seal fitting configured to seal a portion of an inner wire that is connected to a case of a cable-operated device that can be mounted to a bicycle.
2. Background Information
Hand-operated bicycle parts or components are often operated by a cable having an outer casing and an inner wire that passes through the outer casing. The inner wire of the cable is connected at one end to the hand-operated part and at the other end to a gear changing device, a brake device, and any other cable-operated device of a bicycle. Recently, arrangements have been developed (e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-191974) in which a gear change assisting mechanism, i.e., cable-operated device, is provided between the hand-operated gear shifting part and the gear changing device. In these arrangements inner wires are connected between the hand-operated gear shifting part and gear change assisting mechanism and between the gear change assisting mechanism and the gear changing device, such that the gear changing device is operated by manipulating the hand-operated gear shifting part.
When a cable-operated device is operated by an inner wire connected thereto, the inner wire is generally used together with an outer casing through which it passes. However, when the distance between cable-operated devices is short, the two cable-operated devices are sometimes connected with only an inner wire. For example, when a gear change assisting mechanism is provided on the bottom bracket of the bicycle and an inner wire is used to connect the gear change assisting mechanism to the front derailleur (which is another cable-operated device), the two devices are connected with the inner wire alone without using an outer casing.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved bicycle cable seal fitting for an inner wire. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.